Abu Dhabi-based studio Red Dunes Games has significantly stepped up its presence at Tokyo Game Show 2026, moving from sharing a booth back in 2023 to now operating the second-largest stand in Hall 7 at Makuhari Messe — a marker of the studio's rapid growth in the Japanese gaming market. Red Dunes showcased nine titles at this year's event, including Port of Jumanah, Zozo and the Lost Dreams, Nightmare Circus, Blades of Mirage, LightSup!, Katuba's Poacher, and Samurai Pizza Cats: Blast from the Past!, several of which were developed in collaboration with studios from Indonesia, Thailand, South Korea and the Netherlands.
Among the lineup, the revival of Samurai Pizza Cats drew unexpectedly strong interest from Japanese audiences, turning it into one of the studio's most anticipated releases. Co-founder Mohamed Al Jneibi said the project "has actually culminated into one of our top anticipated titles under the Red Dunes banner."
Fellow co-founder Sultan Al Darmaki pointed to bigger ambitions ahead, saying: "We are going to start creating significantly larger games in terms of scope." The expansion also reflects deepening UAE-Japan gaming ties more broadly — Yas Marina Circuit was added to Gran Turismo 7 earlier this year following two and a half years of collaboration between Abu Dhabi and Japanese developer Polyphony Digital.